I'd like to purchase an expensive car, but when?

Ted1990

dipsomaniac said:

From a affordability point of view you shouldn't  spend more than 10%/15% of your income on a car. 

However, if you have saved for it and are happy with spending it on a car rather than a mortgage/pension then go for it.

Thanks for your response. Yeah, that's a very safe percentage to work on. I do think putting the money into my house would be the smart thing to do, but I would like to buy something like a nice car at some point in my life. Cheers.

Ted1990

cattom said:

if you want it and you can afford it, then buy it. There are plenty of good deals around at the moment in the motor trade, high end and bargain basement as well. so its up to you. IMO strike while the irons hot.

Hi Cattom. Thank you for your response. I'll make sure to have a look for any deals. Cheers!

Ted1990

Hasbeen said:

If you have to ask strangers on a internet forum. Then perhaps buying this expensive car and ongoing extremely expensive maintenance / servicing is not for you at this time?
Do you own your own house. Married. Have children. Planned for the future. Bigger house for family. Uni fees. Etc. Etc.
Wait until you have amassed money and then splurge out on your dream.

Hi Hasbeen. Thanks for your input. I can understand where you're coming from. I have a mortgage and I have funds for my wedding later this year. My student loan is paid off and I put money into a personal pension each month. I think a smart option would be to save up for another 6-12 months to be certain. Thanks.

Ted1990

prowla said:

Have you looked at PCP plans?

Hi Prowla. I haven't, no. I'd like to avoid them if possible and pay with cash.

Ted1990

GeordieGeorge said:

Stubod said:

..I think you are looking for the "money spending" forum rather than money saving forum?

OK, you are a long time dead, but this just seems a complete waste of money unless you have at least 10* the amount saved than you are looking to spend on this rather expensive "luxury".

By all means by another "nice" car, but get something that will leave you with plenty of money to look after it and spend on other life life "essentials".....IMHO...

I’ve more than one very nice car, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t try my best to not waste money buying and owning them. Some people seem to have this strange idea that being careful to not waste money means never having nice things, but that’s really not a sensible view.

My most recent car seems to have gone up in value by about then thousand pounds since I bought it, and a few years ago I ran an Audi R8 for four years with all of the costs of ownership being less than the amount it appreciated over the time, meaning that it was free motoring.

We don’t live on bread an water, we don’t all eat only the yellow-label reduced food, and we don’t all drive a well-used Yaris, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t all view our choices through a money-saving lens.

That's a good way to look at it, George. I've always done my best to be careful with money and never lived above my means. In fact, I rarely spend money on myself. This is just of those cars I've always wanted to own and 'treat' myself with. We all work hard, and it's nice to purchase something you really like and want to own, even for just a few years. I'd hate to look back when I'm older and think 'I wish I'd got one of those when I could enjoy it.'

How was the R8? That's another favorite of mine! I prefer the original shape, and I think they still look amazing on the road.

Ted1990

theoretica said:

I think I would take your car buying money, and initial costs like insurance, and put it into a new account separate from general savings. How comfortable do you feel about what is left for life?  Of course you can just do the subtraction, but actually moving it into a different account slightly increases the emotional impact.

Once you decide to buy how long will it take to find the right one at the right price?

Personally, I wouldn't pay interest on a loan in order to free up cash to sit in savings earning not much. 

Thanks Theoretica. That's a great tip! I think the action of moving it would really help with seeing it 'leave' your account. Thanks for your help, and good point about the loan interest.

Ted1990

motorguy said:

Whilst its good to be on here getting general information, i'd recommend you get yourself on to Pistonheads and talk to those guys over there.

Theres a Car Buying area on there, if you stick your thinking on people will give you honest advice and maybe come up with alternatives you havent thought of.

Theres also IIRC a Maserati section too.  OR, find one of the dedicated Maserati forums.

They're a specialist car, which, if you buy the wrong one could cost you a lot of money, either in maintenance or in depreciation.  You need to know the right spec to look out for to return the max come resale time.

Hi Motorguy. Thanks for your input. I thought about Pistonheads and other car forums, but I wanted a more money-focused view on buying a car. I think getting on those forums when I've decided to go for it would help in the buying process. As you said, they can cost a lot of money if I got a dud, so specialist forums would be my best bet. Cheers.

Ted1990

Car_54 said:

OP, you’re self-employed. Does your accountant have any suggestions.

I don't currently use an accountant as I'm a sole trader. I looked into going ltd, but it wouldn't have made much difference financially at this stage.

I thought about a financial advisor, but I understand they can be very expensive. Cheers.

Ted1990

thegentleway said:

I love cars too. I find you don’t have to spend huge amounts to get a lot of enjoyment. Especially with sport cars, the lighter ones are way more fun to drive. Anyway, have you driven one? If not why don’t you hire one for a few days? Should help you decide how much pleasure you’ll get out of it and if it’s worth the running costs/depreciation. 

Hi thegentleway. Thanks for your comment. I agree. My current car is a blast to drive, even though it's 12 years old with 100k on the clock haha. I haven't driven one yet, no. I almost did a year back but pulled out last minute in fear of buying it haha. I could have a look into renting one definetaly. Thanks for the tip.

Ted1990

EssexExile said:

Ted1990 said:
One good thing is that their value only goes down to ~£50k, so I could sell it after 3-5 years and get a lot of the initial cost back if I wanted/needed to.

Cheers,
Tom.

I wouldn't count on that.

No, probably not. My aim wouldn't be to sell it anyway, not unless I really had to.